Activists call on gov to close Somerset's Brayton Point plant, transition state away from coal

With the Brayton Point Power Station as a backdrop, a group of local activists rallied on the overlook at Kennedy Park on Wednesday to call on Gov. Deval Patrick to move the state away from coal and to help communities in economic transition as coal-powered plants shut down.

With the Brayton Point Power Station as a backdrop, a group of local activists rallied on the overlook at Kennedy Park on Wednesday to call on Gov. Deval Patrick to move the state away from coal and to help communities in economic transition as coal-powered plants shut down.

Organizers of the Coalition for Clean Air South Coast also announced that 100 local business owners in Fall River, New Bedford, Swansea and Westport pledged support of the group’s initiatives, which include shutting down Brayton Point Power Station’s coal-burning operation by 2020.

“We want to see Brayton Point Power Station commit to make a transition away from coal, but we don’t think they will do it on their own and that’s why we are looking for Gov. Patrick’s support,” said Sylvia Broude, of Toxics Action Center.

Patrick signed the Global Warming Solutions Act into law in 2008, making Massachusetts one of the first states in the nation to move forward with a comprehensive regulatory program to address climate change and greenhouse gases.

Brayton Point Station, the largest power station in New England, was purchased in 2005 by Dominion, a national company that produces gas, nuclear, LNG and coal power along the eastern seaboard.

In 2010, the power station was deemed by the EPA as the largest polluter in New England and responsible for nearly half of all mercury emissions in the state.

Westport resident David Dionne, of the Coalition for Clean Air, told about 25 supporters the state has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country.

“The emissions of burning of coal has a direct link to the incidents of asthma. We are here today to reduce those numbers and we’re going to do it by eliminating that coal pile,” Dionne said, pointing across the Taunton River to the Brayton Point Station site.

The country is still in the dark ages when it comes to producing electricity, said Al Lima of the Coalition for Clean Air and Green Futures, who questioned why the country won’t move away from coal power.

“The answer is we lack the political will to go beyond coal. We know how to do it but we are stuck in the status quo. We are here today to go beyond coal. We are here today to demand that Gov. Patrick take action to adopt clean resources of power, to implement energy conservation measures and to free us from the scourge of dirty coal,” Lima said.

The Patrick Administration is committed to an aggressive clean energy agenda by enacting nation-leading policies to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy and Massachusetts and New England, said spokesman Reginald Zimmerman in an email.

“In addition to signing the Green Communities Act, which fosters increased energy efficiency, Gov. Patrick has also signed into law the Global Warming Solutions Act, creating the most ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction initiative in the country. These policies are driving our clean energy revolution and will deliver environmental and economic benefits for generations to come, ” Zimmerman said.

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When Brayton Point Power Station was purchased by Dominion, $1.2 billion in environmental improvements were put in place, said Brayton Point Power spokeswoman Lisa Lundy, and the plant meets all federal environmental regulations.

“We are very much in compliance and our goal is to be a reliable producer of electricity while protecting the environment,” Lundy said.

As coal-burning power plants shut down throughout the state — the Salem Harbor Coal Plant is slated for closure in 2014 — communities face the loss of jobs, municipal revenues and property redevelopment.

The closing of the Somerset Station in 2010 is a perfect example of how a former pollution-generating, coal-fired power plant may be redeveloped into an oceanic research facility — a current proposal by developers of the property — said Broude, who called the proposal “an ambitious but realistic plan.”

Dionne said it’s crucial to change the paradigm of reliance on the coal-burning power plants that operate in communities to green industry that will produce jobs, economic development and tax revenue.

“This is the perfect place for the state to get involved, it is really an example of what we’re talking about. The state has the opportunity to help Somerset with that transition,” Dionne said.

Neighbors and local activists who fought against Somerset Station for years are credited with shutting down the coal-burning operation, once included on the “Filthy Five” list of the worst-polluting plants in the state.